STAR Point Transcript - Jean Parker of Disability Radio World Wide
>> From the depths of ingenuity, to the heart and soul of the system technology for people with disabilities. STAR is a system of technology to achieve results.
STAR Point does not endorse or recommend any product, individual or agency. Information expressed on STAR Point is informational in nature and does not imply endorsement by STAR's funders, the National Institute of Disability Rehabilitation Research or the State of Minnesota.
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Earle Harrison: Hello, and welcome to STAR Point, a project of the Minnesota STAR Program. STAR stands for a System of Technology to Achieve Results.
My name is Earle Harrison. I will be your host today. We're pleased to be joined by Jean Parker with Disability Radio Worldwide. Jean joins us all the way from India where it is, I understand, between 107 and 110 degrees currently. Is that right, Jean?
Jean Parker: Yeah, that's about right, Earle, give or take a few. And that's the normal temperature this time of year. Although I will say that it's a bit early for it to be this hot. Global warming or something going on.
Earle Harrison: Now, you used to reside in the United States. Is that right?
Jean Parker: Yes, I did. I used to live in Denver, Colorado, and I have relocated to Puna or Punay as some people say in West Central India, and it's about, oh, 170 kilometers south of Bombay.
Earle Harrison: Sounds good. And we are able to do this via 4-the-people.com. That's 4-the-people.com Chat Service which allows you to do this kind of thing for no charge. I love it.
Jean Parker: It's a cool service, and for people who are interested in assistive tech, there's a lot of good resources on this particular website. And it's just a really nice chat service that they have set up, and the difference between this chat service and some of the more popular ones is that this one was set up with audio in mind. And so it doesn't crash all the time and cause problems and the kind of thing that happens all the time on Yahoo and MSN and so forth.
Earle Harrison: Why don't we go ahead and start out by hearing a little history of how you got involved with Disability Radio Worldwide.
Jean Parker: Well, Disability Radio Worldwide is a program about disabilities from a global perspective. So it's about the disability experience, but from an international or global perspective for a global audience. And I was, and actually still am, on the International Board of Advisors for Radio for Peace International, which is based in Costa Rica. And Radio for Peace International is a shortwave radio station that calls itself Global Community Radio. So it's kind of like your local public radio station, except that it reaches about 120 countries and broadcasting on shortwave and also has an Internet stream at www.rfpi.org, just give a little plug for it.
Anyway, about eight or nine years ago, we were sitting around looking at the program schedule, and we noticed that we had womens programs. We had environment programs. We had programs on racism and a number of progressive-leaning shows that we were running but we didn't really have anything on disability. And not only that, the messages about disability that were on shortwave at that time, and actually still today, we thought were actually quite negative. They were either from a medical point of view wanting to cure people, or they were from a proselytizing point of view with religious overtones wanting to convert people to one or another religious group in order to be cured. And so neither of those, we felt, was an accurate portrayal of the disability experience.
We decided that Radio for Peace needed to have a disability program. But there really wasn't anything available at that time that we could put into a slot, a time slot. So we were left with the option of making our own. And everybody sort of looked at me and I became the producer, pretty much by default. I had the experience and the equipment to do it, and I was looking for a career change. And so I became the producer, oh, I think it was in 1995 that the program went on the air. And now it's heard worldwide on three or four Internet stations and a whole bunch of community FM stations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa and in Europe.
Earle Harrison: I think I first heard you on ACB Radio. Do you still contribute material to that forum?
Jean Parker: I do. And actually a lot of the e-mails that I've gotten has been from ACB Radio listeners. And another interesting station that I get a lot of e-mail from is an Internet station called AIDS Journeys, and a lot of people that listen to that are people with AIDS or HIV or people living with somebody that has AIDS. And they send me a lot of e-mail too. So that's been a very interesting thing that I didn't expect.
Earle Harrison: We do have a couple of programs here geared specifically for folks who want to get involved with radio. But there seems to be a lot of brick walls in terms of the software that the schools have standardized. Do you have any advice for blind people interested in getting involved with radio who come up against some of those barriers and some work-arounds that you've discovered?
Jean Parker: Yeah, one of the things I do here in India, as well as producing news stories and filing for news organizations both in North America and Europe, is I am teaching at a couple of universities. And I have found that radio itself is in a state of flux and change in this country. And so my skills and experiences are really in quite high demand in this country because people have not had any opportunities to even listen to anything but the state-controlled radio, ever. Until very, very recently.
Now the whole FM spectrum is up for debate and the governance is supposed to be releasing campus radio licenses. There are those of us, of course, that would like to see those be geared more toward community radio licenses, and there's a whole movement around freeing up the radio spectrum and getting the government to issue those licenses. So that's a whole other dimension to my work here. And I'm also getting ready to enter a Ph.D. program at one of the universities here, Puna has a lot of universities, and that will be in communications and development.
I have been an independent producer partly because of the access barriers that are in radio stations, that exist in radio stations. Radio for Peace International is unusual in that they were very open to having me there in many different capacities. I've been both on staff and off staff and there in just about every position or capacity you can be in a radio station. I've never been the general manager yet, and I hope I never am. I've run organizations before. I don't want to do that again.
Anyway, so I made the choice to stay independent both for political reasons and also for logistics, access reasons. I can set things up the way I want them. And I don't have to worry about some editor or some bean counter giving me a problem.
The only difficulties that I run into as far as access are that occasionally uploading something onto somebody's website creates a problem if they've got a bad website as far as access is concerned. But, you know, when I file a story for a news organization in North America or Europe or wherever it is, they don't know I have a disability. And it's not relevant. It doesn't matter. And so when I file something for NVR or for any number of places that I work with, they have no idea. They've never seen me. Probably never will. And so it's just not a factor. I have chosen to work this way because I prefer it, because I need the kind of independence and freedom that I can have by working that way.
I would not work that way to let an employer off the hook. I mean I don't care if they find out if I have a disability or not. I'll just tell them, look, I'm blind and I need you to tell me where that box is on the website or -- I've never had anybody say anything about it. I mean it just happens. And usually by then you're dealing with a tech person who doesn't care anyway. And they're kind of fascinated with what a screen reader does. So it just hasn't really been an issue.
Other things that are more of an issue to do with blindness and doing this kind of work have to do with transport, have to do with documents, access to information, other kinds of logistical headaches that go on with being an independent journalist.
Earle Harrison: I mentioned earlier, the STAR Program is the assistive technology project for the state of Minnesota. And I'm sure our listeners would love to hear about some of the technologies that you use on a daily basis to actually produce these types of programs.
Jean Parker: Well, that's changed over the years, Earle. When I started in radio over 20 years ago we used mixers and tape machines and at that time we were using open reel tape machines in fact. In fact, I'm showing my age, but we were using turn tables, too.
Earle Harrison: Whoa!
Jean Parker: That, of course, has evolved into CDs. Most things were done on CDs. That involved into using the mini disk. Most people are doing radio production now, especially independent producers, are using mini disk format, or DAT. The overwhelming majority I think are using mini disks.
And the mixer for many of us has been, I hate to say replaced, but almost replaced by the computer. And the computer editing and recording software that we use, there are programs like Sound Forge and Cool Edit. Some people use Pro Tools. Particularly Sound Forge and Cool Edit and some of the other programs for editing are quite user friendly for people who use synthesizers, screen readers and synthesizers in order to know what's going on in the screen. So those have become very popular among blind people, which I am a blind person, among blind people who do any kind of audio production.
So I actually use a laptop. And I actually have two laptops. And I'll tell you why. I do not use a PC anymore. And the issue of portability became a real problem. I would find myself with some stuff on the PC and some stuff on the laptop, and nothing would be in the right place at the right time and all of that. And so I decided some time ago to buy an high-end laptop and have that as a primary computer and forget about using a PC. I was traveling and I needed everything in one place and all of those logistical issues that were coming about with having a PC.
I use two laptops because I do live in India and the environment presents some challenges for those of us that use technology. I find myself having to travel quite a bit to either other parts of the country or other parts of the world. And I don't necessarily want to take the primary system that I have that has all of the data and all of the audio in it on the transport systems here.
Dust is a big factor and also shock. And possible theft is a concern as well. And so that's one reason that I have the second system. It's actually a mirror system of the one on the primary computer.
Another reason is because if something breaks on the primary system, it's much more difficult here to get things fixed and to get things back in order. And it takes more time than it would in the U.S. to get things back on line, as far as using the primary system.
I do a lot of my work on the Internet and a lot of it by e-mail. And so the computer is, it's very important that it's in working order. So if something happens, earlier I felt it was necessary, and since I already had another laptop, I have a back-up system. I'm talking to you about having two laptops and a braille light and all of these other technological advantages. You have to understand that I live in a country where many people don't have enough to eat. And so some perspective is in order, in that I am extremely fortunate to be able to have those advantages. And I hope that the work that I do is in some way a contribution back to the community that gave them to me.
Earle Harrison: AT Software that you use, you use a screen reader, I'm assuming, and some off-the-shelf sound editing software?
Jean Parker: Yeah, I use Sound Forge. Right now I'm using Sound Forge 6, and I'm pretty happy with it. It's got a few work-arounds on it. But pretty much it does what I need it to do. I don't do anything as far as music composition or even editing music. And so what I do is spoken word and so it works fine for me.
I use a screen reader, of course, JAWS for Windows. 4.5 I'm using. I have a Braille Light 2000. I use a keypad that helps to access the Jaws reading commands a bit better. But everything -- all of the other adaptive kinds of things that I have to do are pretty low tech, I think.
Earle Harrison: That's okay. Low tech is AT as well. Why don't you explain some of those.
Jean Parker: One of the items, I always keep a slate and stylus with me. For people who don't know what that is, that's the low tech way that people write braille. So I always keep one of those with me, because, again, it's not possible to take the braille light to every place that I need to go.
Sometimes in a monsoon, of course water problems here, and you don't want to take a risk, a situation of getting things wet or exposing them to undue humidity. And dust is continuously a problem.
I recently sent my braille light to Freedom Scientific for some maintenance work. And I told them I don't know what you're going to find in there, but whatever it is, it wasn't in there to begin with. It doesn't belong in there. So I think when they cleaned out the braille display they probably found some foreign objects in there.
But one of the things that I have found helpful is a kind of a cane tip which I discovered quite by accident from a mobility instructor in the state. What it is quite a large plastic ball on the end of the tip. And I've seen some tips of this kind before, but none of them had really worked as well as this one. The reason I use it is because we have a lot of uneven terrain, rough terrain here. A cane with a regular tip that we would usually use would get stuck in all the holes and cracks and crevices. Yet this one is sensitive enough to give a lot of feedback. And quite a lot of both tactile feedback and also auditory feedback. So that's been very helpful.
Earle Harrison: You're listening to STAR Point, a project of the Minnesota STAR Program. We're joined by Jean Parker with Disability Radio Worldwide. We're going to go ahead and take a little bit of a break now. When we return, we'll continue our discussion with Jean.
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Earle Harrison: You're listening to STAR Point, a project of the Minnesota STAR Program. We're joined by Jean Parker with Disability Radio Worldwide, a program that can be found on Radio for Peace International, broadcast via shortwave radio from Costa Rica.
Jean, while the recording was turned off, I heard you had some dogs barking in the background and it raised a question in my mind as to whether or not blind people are using or people with any disability are using service animals of any kind in India.
Jean Parker: Well, the simple answer to that is no. Although, there's an effort to try to change that. The reasons for that are quite complicated and have to do with some environmental and cultural factors that are part of the reality here. It would take a disciplined dog indeed to work effectively here, and that can be achieved. But there are also some external factors that need to be taken into consideration.
And there's a woman from the United States, a dog trainer, guide dog trainer, who is planning to visit India, as I understand, for the purpose of assessing whether or not it's possible to train guide dogs and to have working guide dog teams here in India.
You know, one of the interesting things that is a difficulty, and this is just one of the several challenges that there are, those who have traveled in Asia know that the idea of space, personal space, is very different here than perhaps what people are used to in North America and Europe. And so there is literally, literally a lack of space, a restriction of personal space that is not the case in more developed parts of the world. That's an issue. You know, when you get into a rickshaw, I really don't know where you would put a dog. It would be very difficult. And that, again, as I said, is aside from the additional environments or cultural difficulties that are there.
There's also another thing I'd like to say about technology, going back to technology for a minute. You know, we have a lot of power cuts here. And so batteries become a real issue. And having ample supplies of rechargeable batteries and a way to charge them is an issue, especially this time of year, we're talking in March. And the hot weather is upon us, and there are water and electricity shortages. And so the power cuts tend to get longer and longer as the weeks go on toward the monsoon which would be in early to mid-June in this part of the country.
So, you know, making sure that you have computer batteries, making sure that if you're going to go out and record -- well, if you're going to do anything, that you have batteries, and that things are able to be operated on batteries, as well as electricity. Everybody has uninterrupted power supplies or UPS to hopefully keep things from crashing too badly. So that becomes a logistical and a cost issue as well.
Earle Harrison: Yeah, so there is a lot that we take for granted here in North America. What about, are there any -- and I know you mentioned that you're working on a global level with this. But in India, is there anything likened to the Americans With Disabilities Act any legislation that's in place as far as that's concerned?
Jean Parker: There was a law that was passed in the 1980s. But as with most laws in this country it's not enforced. There's no active enforcement of it. There have been some lawsuits filed now for the first time by disability groups against the government for lack of enforcement.
So the law itself is actually not too bad. But just like with the Americans With Disabilities Act, it's a matter of enforcement.
Earle Harrison: Sure. Is it unusual to find things like curb cuts and widened doorways for folks using wheelchairs and tell me a little bit about what it's like to travel?
Jean Parker: Oh, my.
Well, again, a matter of perspective, and it's a matter of where you are. I would say typically that there is no sidewalk. This is a typical experience. There are always exceptions. You will find in the business district of cities that there may be a sidewalk or a footpath, as they call it, but that would most likely be full of vendors selling things or people sitting or other handcarts, I mean other kinds of things that would keep people from walking down the sidewalk as you would in North America. You just can't do that here.
Often people park their motorcycles on the footpath, if there is one, as well. So let me just describe to you the road outside of my flat here. It's a business road, and so there are shops on either side. The road is quite narrow, which is unfortunate because the traffic has increased a tremendous amount. You'll find in the road thousands and thousands of motorcycles, and in Puna, especially, but also in other places, there are probably some traffic laws on paper, but nobody really cares about it. And so it's common for people to drive on the wrong side of the road and to change directions in the middle of the road and so forth. So the traffic really is quite crazy.
Vehicles travel very close together. In addition to all of these motorcycles, there are buses, trucks, rickshaws, which are three-wheeled vehicles used for transport, open vehicles that people ride in. Occasionally there are cars, Jeeps. There are bicycles, regular hand -- not hand, but regular non-motorized bicycles. Usually in quite a degree of disrepair. There are pedestrians. There are people selling things. There are people asking for money. There are market women that sort of sit on the road but sometimes in the road. And as I'm sure you've heard, there is the occasional cow or pig or some other, what you typically think of as a farm animal, who is totally oblivious to everything going on around it.
Earle Harrison: If you're just joining us, you're listening to STAR Point, a project of the Minnesota STAR Program. I'm joined by Jean Parker with Disability Radio Worldwide and Radio for Peace International.
Jean, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today. Before we take our leave, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling our listeners where they can actually listen to archived programs.
Jean Parker: The website is www.independentliving.org/radio. And there are links there to both Radio for Peace International and to Disability Radio Worldwide. There are some archives up there in Real Audio. People can also purchase tapes or CDs. And they should e-mail to Global3@concentric.net, and they can communicate with me directly about that and I can arrange for that to be done.
Earle Harrison: And it's worth noting, for those of you who have tuned in via the STAR Point automated stream, or if you're listening to STAR Point on demand, you will find down at the end of the page a link to other Internet radio resources and you will find a link to Disability Radio Worldwide.
Thank you once again so much, Jean Parker, from Disability Radio Worldwide.
Jean Parker: Thank you. It was my pleasure.
>> STAR Point does not endorse or recommend any product, individual or agency. Information expressed on STAR Point is informational in nature and does not imply endorsement by STAR's funders, the National Institute of Disability Rehabilitation Research or the State of Minnesota.
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Earle Harrison: You have been listening to a broadcast of STAR Point, a production of the Minnesota STAR Program, a System of Technology to Achieve Results. If you would like to provide feedback, become a guest on our program, or if you would like to find out more about the STAR Program, please visit our website at www.admin.state.mn.us/assistivetechnology.
My name is Earle Harrison. Thank you for listening.